5 of the most interesting stories in payments this week

Welcome to our weekly round-up of all the latest news and research from the world of payments.

1. Debit cards to knock out cash by 2021

Without a doubt the biggest story of the week is one based on a new report that forecasts 2021 as the year debit cards overtake cash as the most popular payments method. Four years later, cash will only account for a quarter (27%) of payments. In the recent poll we did, 62% of respondents said that card (contactless/credit/debit) will be their main way of paying. Have your vote now!

2. Thieves used fake cards to steal $13m in three hours from Japanese cash machines

One hundred thieves, part of an international crime syndicate, are thought to have stolen 1.4bn yen ($12.7m) from Japanese cash machines in under three hours. The Guardian says the attack was extremely well-coordinated with the thieves using forged credit cards at 1,400 ATMs. Each withdrew 100,000 yen at a time with the total of withdrawals hitting 14,000.

3. Dogs are the future of charitable donations

You months wait for a story about contactless payments in the charity sector and then two come along at once. A week after the Barbican Centre (a performing arts institution in London) revealed plans to install contactless donation points, animal welfare charity, Blue Cross is changing from a boots on the ground to a paws on the ground approach to fundraising. The charity will outfit our four-legged friends with coats that can carry contactless terminals so people can make ‘Pat-and-Tap’ charitable donations. Dogs such as Maverick the border collie and Cherry the lurcher will have a PayPal Here terminal that will allow people to make £2 donations.

At the World Humanitarian Summit, Ericsson pledged to develop Ericsson Emergency Wallet, a mobile financial services solution that can be deployed in areas where disaster strikes and existing financial infrastructures are lacking. The wallet will allow relief workers to distribute funds to impacted populations.

David Miliband, president and CEO, International Rescue Committee (IRC) said, “Only 30% of countries facing severe humanitarian emergencies have digital payments infrastructure to support scaled-up response. The IRC welcomes efforts such as the Ericsson Emergency Wallet solution to close this gap.”

5. Alphabet’s executive chairman admits to using the iPhone 6S

You read the headline correctly. Eric Schmidt, the executive chairman of Alphabet, Google’s parent company, and Google’s chief executive for 10 years, revealed that as well as using a Samsung Galaxy smartphone, he also has an iPhone 6S. At the Startup Fest in Amsterdam, where he shared a stage with Tim Cook, the audience were asked to raise their hand if they used an iPhone. When the majority did, Schmidt said: “So much for the Android monopoly in Europe,” before going on to admit that he himself uses both of his competitors’ phones.

I caught up with Guillaume Andre, Head of Marketing, Ingenico Northern Europe, to discuss the implications of a tech giant-payments provider collaboration-led future, and how Ingenico and Google might continue to innovate the POS system in the future.

The future is even closer than we think. The increasing pace of technological change means concepts formerly considered only abstract theories on a distant horizon are already nearly upon us. By Urs Gubser, Head E-Commerce, SIX Payment Services.

“The smart terminal has moved beyond just accepting payments", said Patrice Le Marre, EVP of the Banks & Acquirers Business Unit at Ingenico Group, said of the world's first Google Mobile Services and PCI-PTS v5 certified terminal.